Psychopathology

Question 1

Abnormalty definitions

Answer 1

Deviation from social norms
Failure to function adequately
Deviation from ideal mental health
Statistical infrequency

Question 2

What are deviations from social norms

Answer 2

Every culture has acceptable behaviours/norms and behaviour that deviated away from this is considered abnormal. Social norms are approved and expected ways of behaving in a particular society e.g dress for ages

Question 3

One strength of using deviation from social norms to outline abnormality

Answer 3

Has real life application to diagnosing certain disorders
E.g diagnosis of anti social personality disorder- requires failure to conform to ethical standards of behaviour
Shows has value in psychiatry and support can be put in place

Question 4

Two limitations of using deviation from social norms as a definition for abnormality

Answer 4

Culturally specific- what might be considered abnormal in our culture may not be in others-cultural relativism
Label some as abnormal using our standards and not considering theirs, hearing voices acceptable in Caribbean but not in Uk
Lots of cultures living in one country people may be over diagnosed

Lacks temporal vadility what is acceptable can change over time
E.g homosexuality considered illness until 1974. Diagnosing hymphomania considered an attempt to control female behaviour which is not a disorder today
Impacts QOL and victims unfairly treated due to use of the definition and lead to human rights abuses

Question 5

What does failure to function adequately consider abnormality as

Answer 5

Inability of to cope with everyday life and looks at abmorality from individual point of view rather than what the society thinks is abnormal

Question 6

Examples of failure to function adequately

Answer 6

Not doing hygiene e.g showering
Not socialising
Not waking up and getting ready

Question 7

What signs have rosenhan and seligman proposed as some additional signs someone is no longer coping

Answer 7

Person no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules
Severe personal distress
Irrational or dangerous

Question 8

What is the global assessment of functioning

Answer 8

A numerical scale used by metal health clinicians and physicians to rate subjectivity the social, occupational and psychological functioning of an individual. Measure how much persons symptoms effects the day to do life 0-100. 100- superior functioning

Question 9

What are some issues with asking patients to subjectively rate their own experiences (global assessment of functioning)

Answer 9

Social desirability bias- may lie as they don’t want a diagnosis

Question 10

One strength of using failure to function adequately as a definition of abnormality

Answer 10

Represents a sensible threshold for when people need professional help.
E.g 25% experience mental health problems. Most people will seek help or be advised by others e.g if behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous.
Means treatment and services can be targeted at who needs them most

Question 11

2 limitations of using failure to function adequately as a definition of abnormality

Answer 11

Not useful in diagnosing all mental health disorders
E.g some individuals w depression may be good at masking and do everyday life on the surface
Using this definition alone means that some might not be diagnosed and therefore miss out

Difficult to distinguish between someone who is failing to function and someone who is living an alternative lifestyle
E.g people may choose to live off grid or take part in high risk activities this is a conscious decision. This may be considered as abnormal as causing harm to themselves.
People who make unusual choices are labelled as Abnormal and freedom restricted

Question 12

What is deviation from mental health as a definition of abnormality

Answer 12

Looks for absence of health and focuses on behaviours and characteristics that are seen as desirable

Question 13

What are the 6 criteria Marie jahoda came up with which people should exhibit if they want to be classed as ideal mental health.

Answer 13

Resistance to stress
Adapting to environmen
Personal autonomy (independent)
Positive view of self
Accurate perception of reality
Self actualisation
The more criteria people fail to meet the more abnormal they are

Question 14

One strength of using deviation from mental health as a definition of abnormality

Answer 14

Highly comprehensive
E.g ideal mental health includes a range of criteria and covers reasons why we might need help meaning mental health is discussed meaningfully
Provides a checklist and particular areas can be targeted to achieve ideal mental health

Question 15

2 limitations of using deviation of mental health as a defeinitipn of abnormality

Answer 15

What is considered ‘ideal mental health’ varies across cultures
E.g som criteria limited to Europe and Us- individualistic cultures and self actualisation seen more selfish in collectivist cultures.
Can’t generalise to all cultures- culturally biased

Extremely high standard for mental health
E.g few of us contain all jahodas criteria or hard to maintain and high standards can be disheartening
Would class majority of people as abnormal and not effective in who to treat

Question 16

What is statistical infrequency as a definition of abnormality

Answer 16

Behaviour is abnormal if it falls outside range that is typical for most people- ‘statistically rare or uncommon’

Question 17

One strength of using statistical infrequency as a definition as a definition for abnormality

Answer 17

It has real life application to diagnosing disorders
E.g intellectual disability disorder is diagnosed using statistical Norms e.g have IQ in bottom or top 2% to be diagnosed
Once diagnosed interventions can be put in place to support the person and all assessments contain measurements of how severe symptoms are to statistical Norms